Michelle Johnson
Enterprise Account Executive,
LinkedIn Sales Solutions
A Smarter Way to Sell:
Account Based Selling 101 with TOPO
Neil Harrington
Senior Sales Analyst,
TOPO Inc.

The buying landscape is changing
FACT:

The Changing Landscape
6.8
People on average involved in
the buying decision
77% 20%
Decision makers change roles
every year
Of buyers don’t believe that
sales understands their
business and don’t think they
can help
??
?

80% of SDR Teams Leverage 3+ Touch Types
USE OF DIFFERENT TOUCH TYPES
19%
24%
37%
17%
2%
0%
10%
20%
30%
40%
Email, Phone,
LinkedIn, Social, Chat
Email, Phone,
LinkedIn, Social
Email, Phone,
LinkedIn
Email, Phone Email Only
Touch Type
%ofsalesdevelopmentorganizations

Conventional Sales Tactics
Are Losing Deals

GENERIC OUTREACHCOLD CALLING
Conventional Sales Tactics

Cold Calling
53%

Generic Outreach

The Result

Account Based Selling
Modern Selling

What is account based selling?
Researched Personalized IntegratedTimely

It is also a Journey
…Meet your customer wherever they are

Who is it for?

4 Account Based Selling Tactics

4 Key Tactics
Select Target
Accounts
TARGET UNDERSTAND ENGAGE
Investigate &
Identify
Personalized
Value
Outreach

| TARGET |
Select Target Accounts
Questions:
• Who do you sell to?
• Do you segment by industry,
company size, type of sale?
• How do you ID accounts for
territories?
Other Considerations:
• Lowest hanging fruit
• Size of prize

STEP ACTION DESCRIPTION
1 Discovery A meeting or set of meetings to understand the buyer and their current situation.
2 Develop Matrix
Immediately after discovery, sales reps should complete the Matrix.
3 ReviewMatrix
Managers should review the Matrix with their reps, and, based on its information,
coach them regarding the most effective messaging and plays.
4
Customizesales
engagement
Using the Matrix as a guide, sales should customizefuture interactions
(e.g. the demo and the presentation) with the buyer.
THE MATRIX OPPORTUNITY PLANNING PROCESS

STEP ACTION DESCRIPTION
1 Discovery
2 Develop Matrix
3 Review Matrix
4
Customize sales
engagement
(BLANK) THE MATRIX OPPORTUNITY PLANNING PROCESS

BUYING PROCESS MAP
Objective:The answersto the questions in the Buying Process Mapare recorded either in the CRM(preferred) or in the tool featured below.
The elements of this tool are then easilyintegrated into amore extensive deal managementplan or close plan.
Whento Use:Immediatelyafter the buying process conversation.
STAKEHOLDER ROLE IMPACT BLOCKER
Name of Stakeholder Roleintheprocess
(e.g.decisionmaker,recommender)
Impact of the solution on this stakeholder
(e.g. will solve problem x)
Only complete if they will be a problem.
Explain why.
Jaimie Bussey Decision Maker Increase customer loyalty and reduce
same store churn
Has had problem with loyalty card
implementations in the past
MILESTONE OWNER STAKEHOLDERS TIMING RED FLAGS
Significantly step in the buying
process (e.g. executive demo or
legal signoff
Whoownsmakingthestep
happen
Stakeholders involved Exact dates or rough estimates if
early in process
Are there potential failure points
in this step? If not, leave blank
Implementation of pilot
program in 13 test stores
Jim Smith Jaimie Bussey
Jillian Smith
Start 12/6
End 2/6
The team is asking for new
features that aren’t ready and
the Holiday season usually has
high turn
FILL IN ROW FOR EACH ADDITIONAL STAKEHOLDER
FILL IN ROW FOR EACH ADDITIONAL STAKEHOLDER

(BLANK) BUYING PROCESS MAP |
Objective:The answersto the questions in the Buying Process Mapare recorded either in the CRM(preferred) or in the tool featured below.
The elements of this tool are then easilyintegrated into amore extensive deal managementplan or close plan.
Whento Use:Immediatelyafter the buying process conversation.
STAKEHOLDER ROLE IMPACT BLOCKER
Name of Stakeholder Roleintheprocess
(e.g.decisionmaker,recommender)
Impact of the solution on this stakeholder (e.g.
will solve problem x)
Only complete if they will be a problem.
Explain why.

(BLANK) BUYING PROCESS MAP |
Objective:The answersto the questions in the Buying Process Mapare recorded either in the CRM(preferred) or in the tool featured below.
The elements of this tool are then easilyintegrated into amore extensive deal managementplan or close plan.
Whento Use:Immediatelyafter the buying process conversation.
MILESTONE OWNER STAKEHOLDERS TIMING RED FLAGS
Significantly step in the buying
process (e.g. executive demo or legal
signoff
Whoownsmakingthestep
happen
Stakeholders involved Exact dates or rough estimates if
early in process
Are there potential failure points in
this step? If not, leave blank

| UNDERSTAND |
Investigate & Identify
After Selecting Accounts, Determine…
• Buyers
• Decision Makers
• Influencers
Other Considerations:
• Research pain points
• Treat company as whole vs one person

VALUE PROP BUILDER
Objective: Craft highly relevant, benefit-focused value propositions that are easily customizable for different prospects.
When to Use: Qualification call, positioning during a discovery call
30-SECOND VALUE PROP MESSAGING BUILDOUT
Persona
(who you help)
We help… General Managers
Peers
(which co’s you help)
At companies such as…
At restaurants such as Red Robin and
The Melt
How they benefit They get/receive/achieve…
Reduce customer churn and increase
same store sales
How they use it By doing…
By implementing our loyalty card
program
Put it all together
We help General Managers at restaurants such as Red Robin and The Melt reduce
customer churn and increase same store sales by implementing our loyalty card
program

(BLANK) VALUE PROP BUILDER
Objective: Craft highly relevant, benefit-focused value propositions that are easily customizable for different prospects.
When to Use: Qualification call, positioning during a discovery call
30-SECOND VALUE PROP MESSAGING BUILDOUT
Persona
(who you help)
We help…
Peers
(which co’s you help)
At companies such as…
How they benefit They get/receive/achieve…
How they use it By doing…
Put it all together We help _____________ at companies such as _____________________________
_____________________________ by ____________________________________

VALUE PROP BUILDER – “10-SECOND VERSION”
Objective: Create a 10-second version of the value prop to use when sales reps are pressed for time and must articulate
value quickly.
When to Use: Initial phone connect, voicemail, email
10-SECOND VALUE PROP MESSAGING BUILDOUT
Persona
(who you help)
We help… General Managers
Peers
(which co’s you help)
At companies such as…
At restaurants such as Red Robin and
The Melt
How they benefit They get/receive/achieve…
Reduce customer churn and increase
same store sales

(BLANK) VALUE PROP BUILDER – “10-SECOND VERSION”
Objective: Create a 10-second version of the value prop to use when sales reps are pressed for time and must articulate
value quickly.
When to Use: Initial phone connect, voicemail, email
10-SECOND VALUE PROP MESSAGING BUILDOUT
Persona
(who you help)
We help…
Peers
(which co’s you help)
At companies such as…
How they benefit They get/receive/achieve…

| UNDERSTAND |
Personalized Value
Create Value:
• How do pain points align with value
prop?
• Develop content for industry and role
• Tailor messaging to specific account
• Build storylines of success to share with
similar accounts
* Do NOT send exact same message to
everyone

TOPO USE CASE STORY FRAMEWORK
PROTAGONIST The “hero” of the story & the company
CHALLENGES The challenges faced
SOLUTION How the challenges were solved
PAYOFF The business and personal results

(EXAMPLE) TOPO USE CASE STORY FRAMEWORK
PROTAGONIST
The GM of a small restaurant chain the in the Pacific
Northwest
CHALLENGES Had declining same store sales and low average check prices
SOLUTION
They implemented a customer loyalty program that allowed
for generous benefits with their most loyal customers.
PAYOFF
Stacey implemented the solution for her store and then
spearheaded the implementation for the whole region.
She is now in District Manager of 17 stores

(BLANK) TOPO USE CASE STORY FRAMEWORK
PROTAGONIST
CHALLENGES
SOLUTION
PAYOFF

| ENGAGE |
Outreach
Multithreading
• Referrals
C-Level Outreach
• Groundswell: Emerging Markets
• Call High
Utilize:
• Multi-channel approach:
InMail, Email, Phone, LinkedIn, Social,
Chat, Direct

3

Prospect posting surfaces,
Capitalize on like/comment
opportunity
Commenting with purpose will
net the best results
Example: Social Post | Engage with Insight

Social
Response
Impact
Call to Action
Example: Social Post (Continued) | Engage with Insight

Social
Insight
Elevating
Personal Brand
Establishing
Connection
Example: Social Post (Continued) | Engage with Insight

Engage
with
Insights
Example: InMail / Email | Leverage Social Insights to Engage
Call to
Action

STEP ACTION DESCRIPTION EXAMPLE
1
Create a customer
target list
Identify customers who fit the Ideal Customer Profile(ICP).
20-30 customers in the geographic region
representing one of your target verticals
2
Request referral
meeting
Reachout to ideal referrers and request referral meetings.
Hi Stacey,
Would you be willing to introduceme to Williamat
SmashBurger?I wouldlike to talk to them aboutour
loyaltycard program.
3
Referral meeting Conduct a 30-minute meeting with the customer. n/a
4
Send referral
request
Create a referral request which your customer can easily
forward to colleagues. If the customer does not want to
make an introduction, sales should performoutreach.
Stacey,
Thank you for being an amazing customer Acme.
I understand you know William at Smashburger. Would
you be willing to make an introduction?
5 Send thank you note
Send a thank you note to the referrer(s)after the first referral
connection is made. Sending a gift is also a common best
practice.
Thankyou note with gift card
THE REFERRAL PROCESS (RUNNING THE PLAY)
The referral process starts with identifying potential referrers from within the customer account, executing abrief
meeting with one or more of them, and enabling each to provide a referral on your behalf.

STEP ACTION DESCRIPTION EXAMPLE
1
Create a customer
target list
20-30 customers in the geographic region
representing one of your target verticals
2
Request referral
meeting
Hi Stacey,
Would you be willing to introduceme to Williamat
SmashBurger?I wouldlike to talk to them aboutour
loyaltycard program.
3
Referral meeting n/a
4
Send referral
request
Stacey,
Thank you for being an amazing customer Acme.
I understand you know William at Smashburger. Would
you be willing to make an introduction?
5 Send thank you note Thankyou note with gift card
(BLANK) THE REFERRAL PROCESS (RUNNING THE PLAY)
The referral process starts with identifying potential referrers from within the customer account, executing abrief
meeting with one or more of them, and enabling each to provide a referral on your behalf.

Tools to Scale
Respond to engagement
real time
Tracking Automation
Set strategic cadences
- Use with caution -
* Augment human effort, do not replace it

Key Takeaways

4 Key Tactics
Select Target
Accounts
TARGET UNDERSTAND ENGAGE
Investigate &
Identify
Personalized
Value
Outreach
Most attractive prospects
(Best fit for product/service
+ size of prize
Scan social, company website, &
tap into connections to gather
insights
Create tailored messaging/
resources specific to industry & role
Use multi-channel approach
to engage DMs at all levels

Q & A